Almost time to Play Ball
Just had one of those moments at spectacular Salt River Fields that you have to share with other baseball fans.
It’s almost time for the first games between Major League teams. We are ready.
We just launched the MLB.com At Bat app today, so make sure you download and read my MLB.com story to understand some of the new options and subtle changes.
Latest Leaders coming tomorrow…
Welcome to Dallas Latos – Mat’s wife
Matt Latos is pitching at a new Arizona camp this spring since being traded to the Reds, and meanwhile his wife Dallas has just reported to MLB.com Blogs. Be sure to join her at dallaslatos.mlblogs.com and subscribe to her blog for updates and leave comments. Based on the intro, it should be entertaining and insightful. Excerpt:
I typically go on almost as many road trips as Mat does and when I’m on the road, I try my best to enjoy the ballparks and cities I’m in as if it’s my day-job- because it kind of is. I’ll probably blog quite a bit about that. I might blog about new discoveries. I might blog about some of our experiences. I’ll totally blog when I catch a bigger fish than Mat and I might blog about getting to second base with TSA screeners- I can’t really say. I will say that I will do my best to keep you entertained and give you a look into what life is like standing behind a man who plays with balls for a living.
Welcome to Dallas! Meanwhile, all bloggers should tell us about any cool new MLB.com Blogs you have spotted lately…
Around MLB.com Blogs
Please take the time to read “My Baseball story” by Matt at The Cardinals’ Base, and share your own favorite Major League Baseball memory in the comments there and on your own MLB.com Blog. After all, that’s why we are all blogging here and ready for another great MLB season.
[updated] As of 5:22 pm ET, Plushdamentals was third overall in page views at MLB.com for Feb. 24, as people are buzzing over 16-year-old Brewers blogger Curt Hogg, who broke news. No. 1 is MLB.com Braves beat reporter Mark Bowman and No. 2 is From the Corner of Edgar & Dave.
We’ll have the next monthly MLB.com Blogs Latest Leaders up next week, so never too late to make sure you are doing all the right things to promote your own blog. Be sure to comment on as many other MLB.com Blogs as you can and always leave your full URL wherever you go. Will Plushdamentals have enough time to rise to the top of the Fan category?
Who’s going to be at Spring Training and who’s going to be blogging about it? Let us know here so we can keep an eye out for new posts and hopefully help with some promotion. I’ll be in Arizona next week with the MLB Fan Cave panel and 30 finalists so holla.
Speaking of Fan Cave, in case you missed it, our friend Erik at Counting Baseballs took the time to critique all 50 of the Fan Cave finalist videos when that voting began. He came up with his own top 10, so you can crosscheck and see whether they advanced.
Jim Kaat’s first Spring Training with the Washington Senators was in the 1950s. We’re happy to say that Kitty Kaat is going strong and this week posted a new entry about 2012 Spring Training – where he is helping the Red Sox pitching coach at Fort Myers. Please leave Jim some comments.
Check out the WordPress.com Photo Carousel to easily jazz up your pictures and create slideshows. Like this one…
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Calling fans of the defending World Champs: Got a question? Leave it on Jen Langosch’s blog By Gosh, It’s Langosch, because in addition to all of her coverage on cardinals.com, she is doing a Question of the Day on her blog from Cardinals camp. Question, Jen – how do you find time to do such a great job on your MLB.com Blog?
Welcome back to Redsox Nation and Pittsburgh Peas – keep it going!
With all due respect to those other games, The World Will Be Watching THIS on March 23. And I even read all three books.
Why do you blog? Tell us.
Make sure you use the social media widgets in the WordPress.com dashboard and use Twitter and Facebook to support your latest MLB.com Blogs posts. You should create your own Facebook Page to match your blog and encourage others to Like your FB page. Those are no-brainers for promo and we make it very easy to incorporate all that here.
A good example is the author of gojays. And a nice job using polls as well.
Keep leaving comments here with your blog’s full URL so we can help people find you. Happy Spring Training.
Around MLB.com Blogs – Baseball Is Back
HAPPY SPRING TRAINING!
Welcome to SF Giants Photos, a blog launched a couple of weeks ago by Missy and Suzanna in the Giants’ Photography department. As you can see already, it will be a blast to follow.
Congrats to my colleague Britt Ghiroli on her second anniversary today as our MLB.com beat reporter covering the Orioles. She talks about it in Britt’s Bird Watch.
Welcome MLB.com columnist and MLB Network studio analyst Mitch Williams to MLB.com Blogs. Wild Things promises to have a lot of opinion from the former World Series closer, so jump right in and leave him comments.
If you love to blog, then you probably also have a Tumblr. Be sure you are following Drawn to MLB – the official Tumblr of Major League Baseball. We started it here at MLB Advanced Media around the Super Bowl and so far the response has been pretty incredible.
Check out The Brewer Nation‘s regular series, Brewers by the (Jersey) Number. Great idea…might want to do that with your team!
Mariners fans love their new front-office blog, which is now renamed as From the Corner of Edgar & Dave.
David Rhode and our friends at Pitch In For Baseball have relaunched their blog in a big way, updated with timely posts that take you inside their important organization. PIFB gets new or gently used baseball equipment to communities in need, and I encourage anyone reading this to get involved in a really great cause.
New Phillies Ballgirls, new trading cards, new post.
Thanks to our buddy Tommy Lasorda for posting all those pictures from last weekend’s big Latino Baseball Hall of Fame ceremony in the Dominican Republic, including the ones with him and Bernie Williams and Bobby V et al. In case we don’t say this enough, everyone should know that Tommy saved the first-ever MLB.com Blogs post back in April 18, 2005 — a tribute to his friend Jackie Robinson. We have all literally been following Tommy ever since.
Keith Olbermann’s Baseball Nerd is always around the top of our MLB.com Latest Leaders, but in case you are not on top of things there lately, check in and see what KO had to say about the batter who allegedly ran to third base, and also his post about Steve Carlton 40 years ago.
Fantasy draft chatter is pretty hot. Make sure you subscribe to MLB Fantasy 411 and Bloomberg Sports blogs here unless for some reason you don’t want an edge in your league.
How is your MLB.com Blog going? Please let us know in the comments and always be sure to include your full URL there so we can easily click on it and follow you over there. Help us surface cool blogs by bringing them to our attention in the comments here as well. And remember to sign up for MLB.TV so you will blog smarter than everyone else.
PDF support
Have a document that you want to share with your blog audience directly without having to copy, paste and reformat everything in it? Your MLB.com Blog supports Scribd — a free publishing service that allows you to upload a wide range of documents (including Microsoft Office docs, PDFs, and text files). You can then embed Scribd documents directly into your blog posts, keeping readers on your blog instead of having them click a link to an external file. Here’s an example.
It’s easy to get started. The full instructions (and many other helpful blogging resources) are available at WordPress.com Support.
January 2012 Latest Leaders
Will 2012 finally be the Year of the Cubs? That eternal question remains to be seen for Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer, Dale Sveum, Starlin Castro and everyone around Wrigleyville, but perhaps it is an omen that the top overall ranking in the year’s first monthly MLB.com Blogs Latest Leaders went to a Cubbies blog. More people followed the blog of MLB.com veteran Cubs beat reporter Carrie Muskat than any other at MLB.com. Rays Renegade was the top Fan blog (check out Rockpile Rant‘s all-sports versatility lately btw!), and the MLB.com Hot Stove Blog topped the PRO theme category as the Prince Fielder signing came and went. Here were the top blogs by page view in January:
MLB.com BEAT REPORTER
1. Muskat Ramblings – Cubs
2. Mark My Word – Reds
3. The Zo Zone – Phillies
4. Beck’s Blog – Tigers
5. Gonzo and ‘The Show’ – Angels
6. Postcards From Elysian Fields – Rangers
7. Bombers Beat – Yankees
8. Bowman’s Blog – Braves
9. Brew Beat – Brewers
10. Britt’s Bird Watch – Orioles
11. Mariners Musings – Mariners
12. Tag’s Lines – Astros
13. The Fish Pond – Marlins
14. Major League Bastian – Indians
15. Brownie Points – Red Sox
16. Change for a Nickel – Pirates
17. North of the Border – Blue Jays
18. Major Lee-ague – Athletics
19. All Nats All the Time – Nationals
20. Inside the D-backs – D-backs
FANS
1. Rays Renegade
2. The Baseball Collector
3. Red State Blue State
4. Rockpile Rant
5. Cook & Son Bats’ Blog
6. mlbblogger
7. BlueBattingHelmet
8. Royal Blues
9. nybisons
10. Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend
11. Phillies Phollowers
12. Pinstripe Birthdays
13. Yankee Yapping
14. The Happy Youngster…Brew Town’s Ballhawk
15. Counting Baseballs
16. The Baseball Haven
17. M.T.’s Blogger
18. The Rays Rant
19. The Brewer Nation
20. The Unbiased MLB Fan
21. Rockin’ Redlegs
22. Crzblue’s Dodger Blue World
23. The Pittsburgh Peas
24. Brewers Rumors
25. The Ballpark Guide
26. I’m Not A Headline Guy…
27. 2r2d
28. Observing Baseball
29. Sarge’s Phillies Phantasy Camp Diary
30. Blogging ‘Bout Baseball
31. The Future Blog of the Red Sox
32. Live, Eat, and Breathe Yankees
33. Rants, Raves, and Random Thoughts
34. This is a very simple game…
35. Reds Country
36. Collection of Baseball
37. The Yankee Dinosaur
38. baseballqueen
39. You’re Killin’ Me, Smalls!
40. DYNASTY League Baseball from designer of Pursue the Pennant
41. La Pagina de Tony Menendez
42. Unfinished Business
43. Los bigleaguers
44. A’s Farm
45. Cream City Cables
46. Major League Fantasy Sports
47. Where Everyone’s a Giant
48. The Closer
49. Brewers Today
50. Fish Fry
MLB PRO
1. MLB.com Hot Stove Blog
2. Better Off Red
3. From the Corner of Edgar & Dave
4. Alyson’s Footnotes
5. John & Cait…Plus Nine
6. Baseball Nerd – Keith Olbermann
7. MLB.com Fantasy 411
8. Ben’s Biz Blog
9. Justice4U – Richard Justice
10. MLB.com Blogs Central (lol)
11. Fantasy Freddie
12. Phillies Insider
13. Obviously, You’re Not a Golfer
14. Around the Horn in KC
15. Tommy Lasorda’s World
16. B3: Big, Bald and Beautiful – Jonathan Mayo
17. Comerica Park, 48201
18. Inside the White Sox
19. Newberg Report
20. Cubs Vine Line Blog
21. Chirp Chatter
22. Cleveland Indians Fantasy Camp
23. Dodgers Photog Blog – Jon Soohoo
24. Our Game – John Thorn
25. CastroTurf
26. Curly W Live
27. Down the Line with the Phillies Ballgirls
28. MURRAY COOK’S FIELD & BALLPARK BLOG
29. 2012 Mets Fantasy Camp
30. 45 Minutes From Fenway
31. Cooperstown Chatter
32. The Byrd’s Nest – Marlon Byrd
33. Inside the Dodgers
34. Delmarva Shorebirds Blog
35. MLB Urban Youth Academy
36. Colorado Rockies Fantasy Camp Blog
37. Bloomberg Sports
38. Homestand Blog by Yankees Magazine
39. The LumberBlog
40. From the Booth with Steve Stewart
41. Ozzie Speaks
42. Heard It From Hoard
43. Kaat’s Korner
44. Rattler Radio
45. Inside the Chiefs
46. ‘Riders Insider Blog
47. The Inside Pitch
48. Padres hispanos
49. Above the Plate
50. The Mitchell Report & Livin’ La Vida Leo
Reminder: Blogs only can be tracked for this list if they use an MLB theme. If you switch to a different WordPress.com theme for a day or two during that month, those page views will not be included for these purposes because they cannot be recorded by MLB.com. Look for more MLB themes in 2012 and make sure you’re in the February MLB.com Blogs Latest Leaders!
Around the MLB.com Blogs
We’re waiting on a sunny day, just like the author of Blue Batting Helmet. Pitchers and catchers will be reporting to Arizona and Florida shortly; MLB.com & top blogger Jonathan Mayo just released our 2012 Prospect Watch; the Super Bowl will lead right into our Fantasy rankings; Prince Fielder is joining the Tigers; there are no obvious favorites for the 2012 World Series; and there is more to blog about than ever as a Major League Baseball fan.
How’s everyone doing out here in MLB.com Blogs country? I wanted to check in before heading down to Florida later today for a vaca including my second Miami Marathon on Sunday (a very sunny day, hopefully not too much humidity!). We’ll be back midweek to present you with the first monthly installment of Latest Leaders. It has been great to see so many people apply the MLB.com Blogs Top 100 badge to their own MLBlogs after such hard work in 2011, and we have already seen some great new blogs start up that are sure to make the 2012 list. I just expanded the Comments list to the right and as you can see I hope you will always leave your full URL within any comment — use this technique to get people like me to your blog, and please go through their comments and look for other blogs.
Want to see a Tim Lincecum-Prince Fielder matchup in late October? Our friend Emily of Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend just posted a what-if about a Giants-Tigers World Series, so tell her what you think. Kevin of WestSide Culture vows in those comments that he “will be atop that list in 2012, starting now.” He just made the switch to an MLB theme (thanks!), which is necessary to be tallied for Latest Leaders page view search. We plan to update our themes soon and I’ll give a headsup whenever that date gets closer.
Jenn is coming up on her fourth anniversary of blogging at Phillies Phollowers and you can get some nice widget tips from her, such as incorporating your own Facebook page. It’s easy to drag the Facebook Like widget from your Dashboard, like I also did here to the right and below. Just go to Appearance –> Widgets. Another Top 100 Phillies blog is from Michael at The Phanatic Addict and you can see how he set up a favorite blogs Link set, including Jenn, which is what reminded us to check in on Phillies Phollowers. Be nice to others and you will benefit.
From the Corner of Edgar & Dave is the brand-new blog of the Seattle Mariners PR department, and despite launching in mid-month it is tracking as the No. 5 PRO blog right now and has a pretty good chance to go on to become the top overall blog into the season at MLB.com Blogs. Why? Check it out if you haven’t. It has been fun working with Jeff and the crew there as they take it very seriously and seek out feedback on what people like. Copy their widget techniques — the best I have seen since we switched to WordPress.com! Think of From the Corner of Edgar & Dave as a part of Mariners.com — a great club site.
March is my 10th anniversary with Major League Baseball Advanced Media, and probably my favorite photog in the business through that time has been Jon SooHoo — the official photographer of the Los Angeles Dodgers. It is a joy viewing his photo galleries on Dodgers.com, and his Top 100 blog known as Dodgers Photog Blog is back better than ever. Check out his posts from the past week and consider subscribing to his blog so you see whenever he posts. These are great shots — even worth a Pinterest board. Jon appreciates feedback very much and I encourage you to please leave comments there on what you’d like to see from him.
MLB.com has the only traveling network of 30 beat reporters and there are some ongoing changes in beat assignments that you’ll want to know about. The list is to the right here and all the writers involved have used their blogs to discuss their moves for 2012. Alden Gonzalez now covers the Angels, Jen Langosch is moving over to the Cardinals to replace our first-ever MLB.com beat reporter/blogger, Matthew Leach, who has a new MLB.com gig coming up. Longtime MLB national writer Tom Singer is returning to his roots in Pittsburgh to replace Jen on the Pirates beat. We wish them all the best in their new roles and look forward to more great blogging!
In 2012, you will see more really cool changes as we continue to advance with the times. Part of that will be a way to find a lot of MLB.com Blogs through shares, likes and popularity. We’re discussing a number of aggregators we like — Punchfork, for example — and I would really love to hear from YOU in the comments here. How should MLB.com surface and showcase our MLBlogs? Included would be (only) any blogs started at MLB.com/blogs and any of the millions of WordPress.com bloggers who choose our MLB themes. Hey, we all have Facebook and Twitter, but you need a baseball blog for more long-form thoughts. Our widgets allow you to integrate it all.
For anyone who has joined us since last May, here was the relaunch post after our MLBAM deal with WordPress.com. Reminder that WP handles support for our MLB.com Blogs community, so you may use this community blog for anything you wish but use their support link for fast action on any issues or questions. Have fun blogging and look for the next installment of Latest Leaders right here after we test out an IT Band issue over 26.2 miles of South Beach, Coconut Grove and other great places.
Top 100 MLBloggers: Get your badge!
Congratulations again to all our Top 100 MLB.com Blogs for 2011. If your blog made the list you’ve earned a Top 100 badge to proudly display in your sidebar. Here’s how to make it happen:
1. Log in to your blog’s dashboard.
2. Go to Appearance > Widgets.
3. Grab the Image widget from the list of available widgets in the middle of the window (they’re in alphabetical order), and drag it over to the top of your active widgets in the Sidebar section on the right side.
4. Enter ONLY the following information in the Image widget.
Image URL: http://mlblogsmlblogs.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/top100mlblogs.png
Alternate text: Top 100 MLB.com Blogs
Width: 300 Height: 50
Link URL: http://mlblogs.mlblogs.com/2012/01/05/2011-top-100-mlb-com-blogs/
5. Hit Save and you’re all set. The badge should display at the top of your blog’s sidebar, just as it does in this blog.
2011 Top 100 MLB.com Blogs
Congratulations to everyone who made the annual Top 100 MLB.com Blogs list in 2011, measured in page views for the full year. It was a year in which the Phillies topped the regular season in wins, and also a year in which MLB.com Phillies beat reporter Todd Zolecki topped all bloggers as the overall king of MLBlogs. The MLB.com Hot Stove Blog led the way in the PRO 100 division, ahead of Jamie Ramsey’s Better Off Red, Alyson Footer of the Astros, and Keith Olbermann. Baseball snagger and author Zack Hample edged Rays Renegade to top the FAN 100 list. See if you can make our 2012 list!
Here are your 2011 Latest Leaders, based on page views from Jan. 1 – Dec. 31:
MLB PRO
1. MLB.com Hot Stove Blog
2. Better Off Red
3. Alyson’s Footnotes
4. Baseball Nerd
5. MLB.com Fantasy 411
6. Bloomberg Sports
7. John & Cait…Plus Nine
8. Inside the Dodgers
9. Comerica Park, 48201
10. Beat the Streak Report
11. Ben’s Biz Blog
12. The Byrd’s Nest
13. MLB.com Blogs Central (lol)
14. Around the Horn in KC
15. The USA Baseball 16U Blog
16. Tommy Lasorda’s World
17. Guestbook for fans supporting Gary Carter
Update 2/16/12: We in MLB are saddened by Gary’s passing and have created a new guestbook for fans to leave condolences and share memories of the Hall of Famer.
18. The Veteran and the Rook *
19. CastroTurf
20. B3: Big, Bald and Beautiful
21. Inside the White Sox
22. Phillies Insider
23. Heard It From Hoard
24. rallymonkeys
25. Newberg Report
26. SFGiantScoop
27. Down the Line with the Phillies Ballgirls
28. The USA Baseball 14U Blog
29. OFFICIAL #GETWELLBUSTER GREETING CARD
30. Curly W Live
31. Ozzie Speaks
32. MURRAY COOK’S FIELD & BALLPARK BLOG
33. Great Scot!
34. Cubs Vine Line Blog
35. Rattler Radio
36. MLB Urban Youth Academy
37. The LumberBlog
38. Dodgers Photog Blog
39. The D-blog
40. ‘Riders Insider Blog
41. @MLB Twitter Blog
42. ‘Cats Corner
43. Above the Plate
44. Padre Knows Best
45. Clubhouse Confidential
46. Brian Anderson’s House of Blogs
47. Kara’s Hot Corner
48. Official Twins Fan Guestbook
49. Our Game
50. Torii’s Storiis
51. Cooperstown Chatter
52. From the Booth with Steve Stewart
53. The Watson Files
54. AFL Prospects
55. Padres hispanos
56. Fantasy Freddie
57. Baltimore Orioles Fan Guestbook
58. Homestand Blog by Yankees Magazine
59. HYDE’S INSIDE PITCH
60. Is this thing on?
61. Chirp Chatter
62. Yard Work
63. Red Sox DestiNATIONs
64. The Dish
65. Inside the Chiefs
66. Official Cardinals Fan Guestbook
67. Desde el Desierto
68. Delmarva Shorebirds Blog
69. Ozzie Habla
70. The Cutoff Man
71. The Schlact Stories
72. Bird Droppings
73. Cleveland Indians Fantasy Camp
74. Royals Then, Now & Forever
75. Salem Sox Talk
76. Unlocking the Keys
77. Marlins New Ballpark
78. From the Nest
79. The Mitchell Report & Livin’ La Vida Leo
80. On the Mike with Mike Safford (Voice of the Boise Hawks)
81. Docking With the Ports
82. Rollin’ with Rick
83. MiLB Snap Shots
84. BTF Today
85. Tony Schiavone Blog
86. Indians Off the Field
87. Colorado Springs Sky Sox Official Team Blog
88. Medias Blancas con Orgullo
89. The Sprouting News
90. Extra Innings with the KCrew
91. An Astros Minute
92. A’s Ticket Services
93. Diamond Digs with Daniel Descalso
94. Wings Things-official blog of the Rochester Red Wings
95. Catching Z’s
96. Inside the Clubhouse with Mike Antonellis
97. Bees Wax
98. Disco Hayes
99. Kaat’s Korner
100. Boomskie on Baseball
* Mark Derosa (“The Veteran”) has since signed with the Nationals.
FANS
1. The Baseball Collector
2. Rays Renegade
3. Red State Blue State
4. Rockpile Rant
5. Cook & Son Bats’ Blog
6. Unfinished Business
7. The Three Bs
8. The Future Blog of the Red Sox
9. Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend
10. Phillies Phollowers
11. Counting Baseballs
12. Hands off my Pirates Booty
13. Beisbol 007
14. The Pittsburgh Peas
15. Pinstripe Birthdays
16. I’m Not A Headline Guy…
17. The Closer
18. Dodgerfilms
19. The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived
20. Rockin’ Redlegs
21. Crzblue’s Dodger Blue World
22. FutureAngels.com
23. Well Played Mauer
24. Blogging ‘Bout Baseball
25. Live, Eat, and Breathe Yankees
26. Rowland’s Office
27. This is a very simple game…
28. The Yankee Dinosaur
29. Observing Baseball
30. DYNASTY League Baseball from designer of Pursue the Pennant
31. BlueBattingHelmet
32. The Phanatic Addict
33. 2131 and Beyond
34. The Ballpark Guide
35. The Unbiased MLB Fan
36. Rants, Raves, and Random Thoughts
37. The 1 Constant
38. The Baseball Haven
39. Art of the Pale Hose
40. Strictly Cubs Baseball
41. The Cartoon Bird
42. La Pagina de Tony Menendez
43. The Rays Rant
44. baseballqueen
45. Sarge’s Phillies Phantasy Camp Diary
46. A Misplaced Astros Fan
47. Plushdamentals
48. mlbblogger
49. Justine’s Baseball Journey
50. Amazine
51. Blue Jays Nest
52. Collection of Baseball
53. Minoring In Baseball
54. You’re Killin’ Me, Smalls!
55. Reds Country
56. Phillies Red Pinstripes
57. Cambios y Curvas
58. Red Sox Nation Daily
59. King of Cali
60. The Cub Den
61. All Things Pirates: Breaking down the Buccos
62. Brewers Rumors
63. The Yankees Baseball Whisperer
64. The Brewer Nation
65. Bjarkman’s Latino and Cuban League Baseball History Page
66. Nyjer Morgan Fan Club
67. The Baseball Daily
68. Perfect Pitch
69. Perpetual Padres Saga
70. El Designado
71. Confessions Of A Baseball Fan
72. A Girl’s View of the Brewers and Other Related Baseball Things
73. Cardinal Girl
74. Major League Ballhawk
75. LEAVes of Dodger Blue
76. World Series 41, Rangers Fan 1
77. steel city ballhawk
78. Linea de Primera
79. The Wizard of Ozzie
80. Thomas’ Trolley
81. Pop Fly Boys
82. Stuck On Prospects
83. Rox Addict
84. The Best Sox Blog
85. Tale Of The Tigers
86. (:> Bird Brained
87. Wrigley Regular
88. The Brawn of Braun
89. Fish Fry
90. Prose and Ivy
91. Totally Tribe
92. eltubeyero22
93. San Francisco Giants Stuff
94. The Heirloom
95. Baseball Addict
96. The Hitless Wonders
97. Cream City Cables
98. fenway fruitgirl: BEHIND THE NET
99. Soxoholics
100. Ballpark Banter
MLB.COM BEAT WRITERS
1. The Zo Zone
2. Bombers Beat
3. Bowman’s Blog
4. Beck’s Blog
5. Brew Beat
6. Muskat Ramblings
7. Postcards from Elysian Fields
8. Mark My Word
9. Obviously, You’re Not a Golfer
10. Britt’s Bird Watch
11. All Nats All the Time
12. Mariners Musings
13. Haft-Baked Ideas
14. North of the Border
15. Tag’s Lines
16. By Gosh, It’s Langosch
17. Brownie Points
18. Major League Bastian
19. Mets Cetera
20. The Fish Pond
Note: We’ve omitted the WordPress.com blogs using MLB themes that have no baseball content, and MLBloggers are reminded that they will only be tracked for Latest Leaders traffic if they are using an MLB theme.
Dealing with problem comments
A lively comments section is every blogger’s dream. But what about when unwanted comments from unwelcome guests become a problem? Fear not! MLBlogs is powered by WordPress.com, who provide bloggers with all the tools you need to make your comments a troll-free zone.
A first layer of defense comes from WordPress.com’s spam filter. Should any spam messages make it through, you can mark them as spam to remove them from your visible comments and add them to the spam filter. Additionally, every blogger has the ability via your blog dashboard to customize comment approval under Settings > Discussion. You can open things up and automatically publish all comments in real time, require all comments to be approved by you before they appear on your blog, or choose from a wide variety of customizable options in between. Should you encounter an unwelcome commenter, you can blacklist both by email address and IP address — preventing them from returning to the blog under a new account.
Make sure to mark posts as “Spam” as that helps our system learn and catch similar spam posts better in the future.
Finally, consider is closing comments for old posts; WordPress can do this automatticially after a certain number days, under Settings > Discussion.
As always, WordPress.com’s Support section is a great resource. Here’s a link to their support page on this topic for more information.
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